THE DELTA KAPPA GAMMA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL :: GREAT BRITAIN

Presidents' Page

Evelyn Goodsell

State Organisation President

2019 - 2021

State President’s Report April 2020

Greetings to you all. I cannot believe that a whole year has passed already since I, with great trepidation, accepted the role of State President. The appeal for help was not in vain and, apart from a ‘few’ computer glitches, I seem to have survived my first year!

Although our sad memories will always be with us we must, and we have, moved forward. Both Chapters have had busy years with interesting speakers and visits, and Members of both Chapters have taken the advantage of visiting each others Chapters when time and opportunity allowed.

It is pleasing to report how enthusiastically our Revitalisation project is progressing. Both Chapters have been able to welcome three new members during the past few months. (Dear Gloria would have been so pleased to know her encouragement is beginning to show results.) I must say a big ‘thank you’ to the members of the Revitalisation committee for their tremendous effort and enthusiasm, but I must also say we must not rest on our laurels and it is down to us all to play our part in inviting ‘Women in Education’ to join this great Society. To tell them about the many opportunities there are for them as well as the friendships to be made, not only in this country, but in the other seventeen countries around the world.

Last July I, and five other GB members, attended the International Regional conference in Iceland, and enjoyed the hospitality and friendship of our Icelandic sisters. I was pleased it was not my first visit to Iceland as my training took up most of the time I could have otherwise spent sight-seeing! But I must not complain, our International President, Cathy Daugherty, had planned a very comprehensive training schedule, (with no early mornings or late nights) and at the end I have to admit I felt far more confident.

Sadly we have had to postpone our Annual State Conference, due to the Coronavirus sweeping the world, until October 16th-18th. We have been fortunate in securing the exact terms and arrangements previously agreed with the management. The Theme remains the same and the Speakers are available. We may have to change the Sunday morning visit to another venue depending on whether Hever Castle is open then, and there won’t be the glorious display of daffodils in October, but we shall see nearer the time. The only thing we have to do is to re-book our rooms if we are staying overnight. I have not received the code for this yet but will inform you as soon as I do.

The International State Conference, this year booked to be held in Philadelphia, is depending on whether this awful virus is still affecting our lives. At the moment it does not look too hopeful, but, if it does go ahead I, and Diane Billam, will be attending-so watch this space, we booked our flights in January!!

I do hope as many of you as possible will endeavour to come to our State Conference as it is a great opportunity to socialise and get to know the other members in both Chapters. So please give it some thought, I look forward to seeing you there.

Penny Kinnear

Alpha Chapter President

2018-2020

Alpha Chapter Report Spring 2020

Alpha Chapter continues to enjoy a range of visits and speakers, covering a variety of topics. Our Summer Outing in June was an interesting visit to Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing exploring the newly renovated Manor house as well as the thought-provoking Anish Kapoor Exhibition. The annual visit to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in July proved as fascinating as ever with amazing and impressive exhibits – many “hands-on”. Our Business meeting at the end of the year in July centered around planning for the year ahead, as well as discussing options for next year's State Conference.

In September, a small group of Alpha members enjoyed a “finger-licking” workshop experience at the ChocolateMuseum in Brixton, where we got to make our own chocolates. Recommended!!

Revitalisation was the main topic of our first Business meeting of the year in October, where we discussed how well our various visits to schools with our Book Donations had gone. We have still to attract any potential new members from this.

In November Anne Goldstein (Gamma Chapter) gave us a presentation on the theme of "Inspirational Stories". She shared some of her favourite stories from different world faiths as well as some from her own Jewish family. We enjoyed the interactive parts to the presentation where we explored ideas about ourselves and made crosses out of cutting and folding A4 paper.

Our Christmas celebration, originally planned as a walk to see the lights at CanaryWharf unfortunately didn't happen, as the display had been rescheduled for January. However, that didn't stop us enjoying a catch-up chat in the Docklands Museum Cafe with some members paying a quick visit to the Christmas Themed Exhibition upstairs before a lovely lunch at the nearby Ledger Room.

In January, Nuala Garvey introduced us to the modern Apprenticeship – very different to perceptions and knowledge of how we used to see apprenticeships. A great way for people to find their route into the workplace without going down that of University with fees and huge debts at the end.

Our business meeting in February included an update on Revitalisation, discussion on the Alpha Chapter Programme, possible future venues and the DKG Conference.

In March we had Tina O'Connor telling us about her role as a PPA (Pupil Personal Advisor) in a girls' Secondary School. Tina was a pioneer and instrumental in setting up this role for Counselling and Pastoral Care, when she saw the need in a school which she and her daughters had once attended.

Carole Stirling

Gamma Chapter President

2018 - 2020

Gamma Chapter Report May 2020

We are indeed living through unprecedented times. If anyone had told me at the beginning of this year that I would spend weeks in my house not going out, except for a walk, not seeing my children and grandchildren, not going out with friends, I would not have believed them but here we are in exactly that situation. I think if we had some sort of timescale – a light at the end of the tunnel - it might be easier. However each day I look around and think again how lucky I am. When I think of people in other parts of the World I realise how easy my life is and I am grateful.

One of the major things I miss is my monthly meeting with my DKG sisters. I so look forward to us all being together and a chance to socialise and share news with my good friends, many of whom I’ve known for years and some I’ve recently come to know. Of course I also look forward to our excellent speakers on a wide range of topics and each one bringing something different to our meetings. I always feel blessed that I have learnt something new and my eyes and my mind have been opened and stretched, often in areas that I have never explored before.

We managed to have two chapter meetings before the lock down came. The first was a very thought provoking meeting when Joyce Evans, one of our members, talked to us about ‘Artificial Intelligence’. I learnt lots of new things and to think about it in a different way. February saw us welcome Joe Mendell from the Dementia Information Service. Dementia is an illness that touches many families and it was interesting to hear facts and how to help our loved ones, as well as to have some of the myths surrounding the subject dispelled. Reports of both our January and February meetings can be found elsewhere in this edition of our magazine.

Obviously all our other meetings have been cancelled until further notice. The lady who was coming to talk to us about Forest Schools is still very keen to come so probably she will be our first speaker. At least we have something to look forward to and of course our State Conference in October. I can’t wait until we can all meet again and spend time together. Until then take care and stay safe – I’ll see you on the other side.